


a stop on the way home

by bartons



Category: Marvel 616
Genre: Clint’s Shitty Self-Esteem, Comfort No Hurt ‘cause I’m Nice, Established Relationship, M/M, Somehow Canon-Compliant, bucky’s POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-09-08
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:01:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26359120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bartons/pseuds/bartons
Summary: Clint and Bucky get a flat tire on the way to their new house.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Clint Barton
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	a stop on the way home

Clint parks the car on the side of the road and curses, Bucky reluctantly lowers the volume of the music with a frown as Clint unbuckles his seatbelt and opens the driver’s door then instantly closes it. He huffs and leans back.

“You don’t know how to change a blown tire?”

Clint glowers at him, “Of course I do, it’s just that I already used the spare,” he says, hands on the steering wheel as he directs his glare at the tiny red icon of a tire on the dash. “Call Sam?”

“When the hell did you have time to use your tire?” Bucky asks, unbuckling his seatbelt to face his boyfriend.

“It’s a used car, I didn’t ask for a tire change when I got it ‘cause they looked well enough but one deflated when I went camping with Tony on a dare last month,” he says, with a detail Bucky hasn’t asked for but he knows Clint is just trying to not turn this into an argument, Bucky is grateful.

“Who was dared?”

Clint chuckles, the tension on his shoulder loosens, “Both of us, but he complained more,” Clint says, smiling softly at Bucky before looking away to think about the matter in hand.

“It’s too late to call Sam for help,” Bucky says, answering Clint’s question from before. Clint frowns and looks out of the window, clearly thinking of another answer as he bounces his right leg. Bucky sighs, he wants to point out that this isn’t as big of a deal as Clint is making it, but he knows that will only prompt Clint into giving him the whole ‘This was supposed to be perfect and I screwed it up’ shtick. There’s only so many times Bucky can argue against that before it turns into a fight. Right now he’s hoping Clint snaps out of it because Bucky is giving him no signs of being upset.

He knows relationships are fragile, and this  _ was _ supposed to be perfect. Drive up to their new house with the little barn, it has gotten rebuilt enough for them to stay there now, not fully move in but just sleep in bags that will soon turn to a mattress and later on a king sized bed. A stop on the long road will not make it any less perfect to Bucky, and he knows Clint isn’t that shallow either. Bucky has never thought his life will ever get to this point, or that he deserves it to. It makes him have second thoughts — maybe that’s what Clint is feeling.

This is the kind of shit he’d be thinking about late at night on bed, not on the passenger seat of Clint’s new-ish Nissan Frontier. But he thinks he has done enough late night thinking about it, except that he spoke most — if not all — of his thoughts out loud to Clint. Clint knows he’s happy with this, he knows Clint is too, but he also  _ knows _ Clint, knows that something as little as forgetting to get a spare tire for an important trip will make him close up and sulk with nothing in his mind but self-deprecating thoughts that Bucky wishes could materialize so that he can shoot them himself.

Clint sighs, Bucky watches him as he climbs out of the car and shuts the door behind himself. Bucky lets him, biting his bottom lip as he takes his phone out, there’s a weak service but he knows that even though it’s late he’ll find a number to call for help.

He multitasks typing on the search bar and watching Clint climb onto the truck bed floor from the side, just to sit in the corner right behind Bucky and next to their overnight bag. That’s not good, he huffs as he pockets his phone to step out of the car, taking two steps towards Clint, “This isn’t a big deal, I have service.”

“I know.”

Bucky raises a brow, “Okay… I’m gonna call for a tow truck or something, can’t take long, we’re closer to town, yeah?” Clint nods, Bucky watches him and makes no move to get his phone, he closes his eyes for moments. “What is it? Are you having second thoughts?”

Clint purses his lips and looks at Bucky, breaks eye contact and leans back on the widow behind him, taking his left hand out of his denim jacket’s pocket to hang it off the trunk. Bucky steps closer to take his hand.

“I don’t think they’re second thoughts… just maybe, doubts -- not on us, but,” he waves his other hand then shrugs. Bucky doesn’t point out that second thoughts  _ are  _ doubts, he just raises his brows to prompt Clint into speaking more, “It’s just that I know it’s not gonna last.”

“Clint.”

“Not us, we’re good, it’s not… not you, nor me, Buck. It’s that I feel like we’re approaching the wrong dream, or at least I do, it’s… it was all me and you’re-“

Bucky interrupts him before he could babble worse, “It’s mine too, Clint. Ever since you told me, it’s like I’ve always wanted it, though I wouldn’t have it with anyone but you.” Clint gives him a private lopsided smile, Bucky looks at their joint hands before continuing, “So if you think that just because I haven’t always wanted to grow old in a nice little farm with my best guy then you couldn’t be more wrong. If anything, the whole thing is too good to be real, and mine.”

Clint shakes his head, and stands before he could say anything more, Bucky lets go of his hand as his eyes follow Clint’s movements towards the tailgate. 

“Don’t just fuckin’ watch me, get up here,” Clint says, Bucky obliges, fumbling for the tailgate’s handle to get it open, Clint sighs in exasperation and grabs his arm and hand to help him climb up over it.

“I coulda done that myself,” Bucky grumbles as he balances himself on the truck bed floor, Clint’s arm loops around his waist.

“‘Just an excuse to hold you, babe.” Bucky rolls his eyes at Clint’s grin then lowers himself to sit on the wheel tub right beside him, Clint happily sits next to him on the floor, still grinning at him.

“It’s getting very late, we should call someone,” he says, frowning when his words manage to dim Clint’s smile. “What, do you wanna push the car?”

“No, why would I- it’s just… we’re not in a hurry, you know, the house can wait,” Clint says, scooting back to fumble around the bag behind him, “We got snacks in there, sleeping bags, water, change, what else do you need?”

Bucky tilts his head, “You  _ are  _ having second thoughts.”

“Yes, we just talked about that, remember?” he says, Bucky just looks at him, he sighs, “The sooner we get there, the sooner it’s real and the sooner there’s something the  _ both _ of us don’t want to lose. I don’t know, I just always thought about the whole thing as a ‘Happily ever after’ and… fuck I feel bad for feeling this way.”

“You shouldn’t, I get it.”

“Yeah?”

Bucky simply nods. He really does, it’s how he felt before starting his relationship with Clint, and from what Clint had told him, he felt the same. What he doesn’t get is why Clint hasn’t learned from that, if they had remained cowards they wouldn’t be on their way to their  _ own new home. _ He regrets the time he wasted just pining, he thinks maybe if he says yes to this it will be just like that.

Except that Clint is here with him, time is not wasted if he spends it with Clint, never, plus Clint is now smiling softly at him and Bucky can’t with everything he’s got say no to a guy that looks this good under the few lights of some road.

“Okay, but we’re calling for a tow truck as soon as we wake up,” he says, Clint grins and shifts to grab the sleeping bags, “And maybe get breakfast before we head home.”

Clint stops working on unfastening the sleeping bags by himself for a moment, they smile at each other before Bucky takes a look at the sky.

“There are no stars.”

Clint frowns and looks up, “Yes, there is.”

Bucky grunts at that and lays the sleeping bag and Clint fixes his, “I made yours and you made mine, how romantic,” Bucky grins, making Clint snort, crossing his legs to sit back against the wheel tub.

“This is nice,” he says.

“Yeah, gonna be really fun when someone hot wires the car and drives away with us back here,” Bucky says, Clint laughs.

“Gotta be difficult with only three wheels.”

“Oh, fuck I forgot about that.” Clint laughs.

“Gotta turn it off and grab the snacks, don’t go anywhere, Barnes,” Clint says, giving Bucky a kiss before jumping off the truck.

“Wouldn’t dream of it.”

**Author's Note:**

> I learned that I only end up posting shit I don’t overthink, this was a simple thing that came to me at 3 AM last night.
> 
> Thank you for reading !!


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